


Soft Moments at 4:30 am

by Rainstorm67



Series: Emotional Healing in the Middle of the Night [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I tried a slightly different writing style hope it works-, Implied as in there's mentions of them without naming them, It rivals Roman's room in extra-ness, Janus gently being told he's an idiot, Janus has a room that's as extra and fancy as him, Me? Projecting onto Janus? More likely than you think, Not Beta Read, Platonic Roceit, Roman actually being soft and helpful while gently telling Janus he's an idiot, Thinking you fucked up more than you probably actually did, mentions of Soul Eater
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:21:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25617283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainstorm67/pseuds/Rainstorm67
Summary: The soft sound of muffled sniffles filled the darkened room, the only light coming from the near-muted TV. A bundle of blankets on the couch shifted, a covered hand coming up to wipe at teary eyes. The sniffles and soft hiccups continued, the culprit desperately trying to stay quiet and not wake the other inhabitants of the house.Despite their best efforts, the soft sounds of slippers on hardwood echoed from down the hall. The figure on the couch desperately scrubbed at their face before their impromptu company could see the tears, pasting on a too-wide smile just in time.“Janus? What are you doing up? It’s, like, 4:30 in the morning…”or,Janus's thoughts get too loud, and he escapes to the Living room to drown them with TV. Someone he didn't expect finds him, words are exchanged, and burnt bridges begin to mend.
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Hinted Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Hinted past Deceit | Janus Sanders & Anxiety | Virgil Sanders
Series: Emotional Healing in the Middle of the Night [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1856902
Comments: 7
Kudos: 67





	Soft Moments at 4:30 am

The soft sound of muffled sniffles filled the darkened room, the only light coming from the near-muted TV. A bundle of blankets on the couch shifted, a covered hand coming up to wipe at teary eyes. The sniffles and soft hiccups continued, the culprit desperately trying to stay quiet and not wake the other inhabitants of the house. 

Despite their best efforts, the soft sounds of slippers on hardwood echoed from down the hall. The figure on the couch desperately scrubbed at their face before their impromptu company could see the tears, pasting on a too-wide smile just in time.

“Janus? What are you doing up? It’s, like, 4:30 in the morning…” 

The blanket bundle shifted uneasily on the couch, softly clearing their throat before risking an answer, “I, uh, lost track of time. What are  _ you _ doing up, Roman?”

The figure in red silk pajamas shrugged, fluffy white slippers scuffing gently across the floor. “Just woke up, was getting a drink. What, uh, what are you watching?”

“... Soul Eater.”

“Oh. What episode are you on?” The Prince shuffled over closer to the bundle on the couch, glancing at the quiet TV once he was sure he wasn’t blocking Janus’ view.

“Uh…” A hand protruded from the blanket pile, snatching up the remote and quickly pausing the episode, “15. Out of 51. I finished the latest episode of Supernatural earlier, and have been binging this since.”

“Cool. Mind if I join you?’

It took a solid three seconds for the blanket pile to respond to that, struck dumb with shock. The whole interaction was surprising enough, with a distinct lack of jabs, insults, cruel nicknames, mocking… but now Roman wanted to watch anime with him? At half past four in the morning? Once the idea of that was properly processed, Janus found himself nodding. “Yeah, sure. I’m not sharing my blankets, though.”

“Would never ask you to,” Soft footsteps moved past the couch and it’s single inhabitant, disappearing into the kitchen. Cabinets opening, glass shifting, water running. Soon, Roman was back, carrying two glasses of water. No words were exchanged as one of the glasses was handed towards the blanket mass, a pale hand coming out to grab it and absorb it into the fluffy, warm folds. The couch creaked slightly as Roman sat down about half a cushion away from Janus. Not far enough to be obviously avoiding him, but not too close to be breaching his personal space bubble. Surprisingly… considerate. 

Words weren’t needed as Janus hit play on the episode, a comfortable silence swirling around the two, broken only by the quiet TV and the sounds of sipping. Janus still wasn’t feeling totally stable and happy, but having company seemed to help regardless. It was easier to hide his pain when Roman was next to him, sipping his own water and regularly glancing over to check on him. It was… really sweet, actually. 

The silence lasted for another three episodes, before Janus’ thoughts got too loud again, and he tried to subtly sniffle and bite back his tears. Of course, with how quiet the room was, and their proximity, Roman heard him.

“You good, snake and bake? Do you have allergies like Patton?” 

“U-uhm-” Janus sniffled, trying not to tremble or let his tears slip, “Yes?”

“Are you asking me, or telling me?”

“Uhm...”

There was a soft sigh, and the dull sound of glass being placed on hardwood, and then the couch cushion was dipping. “Is this okay, or do you want me to back off?”

Heterochromatic eyes peered out from the blanket pile, eyeing the red-clad form. He was closer, but not crowding. Red eyes were heavy with sleep and concern, brows slightly furrowed, mouth twisted just enough to be called a frown. Janus felt his tight chest loosen a little at the expression.

“You’re fine,” Was whispered into the air, the monster in the blankets burrowing deeper into their safety. “And I’m fine, before you ask. Just a sniffle, no biggie.”

“Yeah, like I’ll believe that one. If you can’t tell me what’s wrong, how am I supposed to fix it and protect you, huh?”

“I don’t need fixing  _ or _ protection, Roman.”

“Maybe not, but it's still supposed to be my job to save people in distress.”

“I’m not a person. Are we gonna keep arguing about this, or are we gonna finish watching some more Soul Eater episodes?”

“Soul Eater is fine. But don’t think I’ll just forget this, I know there’s more going on than just some sniffles. I won’t pry, but I do know that talking about it will help.”

Silence settled between them once more, two sets of eyes returning to the TV. 

Several moments passed before the blanket pile just couldn’t hold back the tears and hiccups, soft cries and whimpers escaping into the quiet living room. The couch creaked again, and then a pair of strong, warm arms were encircling the trembling pile. Janus choked on a sob and pressed against the warm, firm chest that was offered, pale hands scrabbling out from the fluffy folds to clutch at red silk. Soft shushes mixed in the air with the shaky breaths and gentle sniffles, neither mentioning the tear stains on Roman’s nicest pajamas.

The seconds dragged as Janus let himself cry, his tears coming in waves of heaving sobs and quiet gasps. Eventually, sobs quieted down into sniffles, ragged gasps calming into slightly shaky breaths. The blankets were gently pushed away and down, freeing a tear-stained face to the air, causing the half-snake to shiver slightly. Warm, calloused thumbs brushed away stray tears, a red silk handkerchief offered for the running nose. Roman waved away the article of cloth as opposed to taking it back after Janus blew his nose, not a hint of disgust on his sleepy face.

“Better?” 

A soft nod, bare hands coming up to rub at puffy eyes. “A, a little. Thanks,” 

“You wanna talk about why you’re crying?”

Janus drug his teeth over his bottom lip, thin fingers falling to his lap to fidget with his pile of blankets. “I… it’s nothing, really. It’s dumb.”

“Nothing that makes you cry like that is dumb, Janus.” Roman frowned, his eyes dark with sleepiness and concern. “You can tell me, I swear I won’t tease you.”

The “again” went unsaid, but they both still heard it.

A shaky, deep breath, a small form shifting nervously, words spilling from bitten lips. “I just… I’ve made a lot of mistakes, as you know, and… I don’t… don’t think I can fix them.”

“Nothing is unfixable, Janus. I’m sure if you try your best to apologize and make up for it, he’ll forgive you.”

“You think I haven’t tried? I’ve apologized in ev-every way I can think of, I’ve made him apology gifts of all kinds, and he just… just destroyed them in front of me and slammed his door in my face.” A bitter chuckle, thick with renewed tears, “My last attempt ended with him yelling at me to go take a long walk off a short pier.”

An uncomfortable silence filled the air between them, Janus trying not to dissolve into sobs again, Roman trying to think of something helpful to say. 

“Maybe just back off a bit, give him some space and time to cool down?” 

“He left three years ago, Roman. My last try at mending the bridge I destroyed was six months ago.”

“Yes, but you showed up in videos, and antagonized him. Give him some actual space, Jan, or at least don’t poke him with a stick to see if he’ll snap at you.”

Janus let his face drop, his watery eyes miserable as he curled up under his blanket pile. He brushed the tears away, breath shuddering in his chest. He knew Roman was right, that he’d been his own worst enemy, but it still hurt to hear. It still felt horridly accusatory, despite the gentle tone, and Janus viciously stomped down that feeling. He wasn’t going to take words out of context and tone and push away the one person who’s tried to comfort him in  _ months _ . 

Several moments passed before Janus cleared his throat, his voice raspy. “I… you’re right. I’ll… back off.” A short, humorless laugh left bitten lips, “I haven’t exactly been helping myself, have I?”

“Not really. But you  _ want _ to fix things, and that matters a hell of a lot more than you think. I’ll try and talk to him, too, see his perspective of things.”

Janus simply nodded, rubbing at his eyes again. The living room fell back into a more calm silence, the TV still flashing lights and colors across the darkened room. The clock chimed 6 am, both Sides startling a little and looking up.

“Shit. Didn’t mean to stay up this long,” Roman yawned, rubbing his own slightly-dry eyes, “Maybe Thomas can have a lazy day tomorrow. Er… today.”

The other nodded, stifling his own yawn. “Yeah, that should be fine. According to Logan’s schedule, we’re ahead of ourselves, so he shouldn’t complain too much about a lazy day. I’ll just call it mandatory Self-Care or something.”

“That sounds nice,” Roman hummed, relaxing back into the cushions, eyes trailing to the lights and colors, “Aw, we missed a whole episode. We’ll have to rewatch it.”

“We will?” Came the cautiously hopeful voice, heterochromatic eyes eyeing the royal Side warily.

“Unless you don’t want to?”

“... No. I… I’d like that.”

They shared a soft, cautious smile, before Janus was overtaken by a huge yawn.

“Alright, snake and bake, time for bed. You need help getting to your room?”

“I’m not a damsel in distress, Roman, I’m perfectly capable- ow” Janus huffed as his legs gave out on attempting to stand, landing in a fluffy yellow pile on the ground. “Not a word.”

“I wasn’t going to say any,” The Prince hummed, standing up with a large stretch before dipping down and scooping the smaller Side up in his arms. He ignored the embarrassed blustering and shut the TV off with a thought, carrying the half-snake carefully up the stairs and down the hall. 

A yellow door came into view, black vine details and snakes trailing the edges, with a crystal doorknob. The room behind the door was just as extravagant, a large four poster bed with pale yellow sheer curtains, yellow flannel sheets, and a puffy black comforter. Black walls and dark hardwood floors, a fluffy yellow area rug, old fashioned golden wall lights, all the furniture the same dark hardwood as the floor. Hints of yellow and gold scattered throughout, a few musical posters, a healthy collection of vinyls to go with the antique record player in the corner, sitting proudly next to a worn, comfortable looking yellow leather chair. A bookcase filled with old looking novels, and various knick-knacks. Roman swears he sees a glass bubble filled with neon green, pulsating moss, the object seeming to have a place of importance on the shelves. He also spied a black and purple clay mess, unsure what it was supposed to be, but it was half hidden anyways. As if Janus was simultaneously proud of it, and heartbroken looking at it. 

The Prince carried the sleepy snake over to his bed, easily parting the sheer curtains and sliding the other beneath his covers. Janus hummed as he wriggled into the warmth, gently bundling the covers around him and half squishing his face into one of his many pillows. A honey brown eye opened and gazed up at the equally sleepy prince, filled with gratitude and some unidentifiable soft emotion.

“Thank you, Roman. For listening, and smacking some sense into me.”

“Anytime, Janus. Sleep well.”

“Sleep well, Roman.”

The door shut softly behind the red-clad prince, the lights dimming to near total darkness despite the slowly rising sun. A few more shifts under the covers until Janus reached peak comfort, his muscles slowly going lax and limp. Mismatched eyes slowly slipping shut. Slow, steady breathing filling the air, gentle snores mixing in. A small smile on a still red, puffy face.

One burnt bridge starting to mend.

**Author's Note:**

> I tried to shake it up with a different writing style, let me know how I did!  
> Man I just love making Janus cry, huh? But this time there's immediate comfort! And Roman's not a total himbo here! Maybe being sleepy gives him some brain cells. 
> 
> For those of your wondering about backstory, or how this new plan will go... :) Be patient. I have ideas.


End file.
